Gangs Toolkit

Street gang crime can take many forms. The COPS Gangs Toolkit consists of
resources for law enforcement officials, educators, and parents to address
specific types of crimes committed by gangs. The following resources provide
details of community policing solutions to youth crime and school violence. The
COPS Office encourages law enforcement agencies to analyze their local gang
problems and use these resources, as appropriate.

Bullying in Schools
There is always concern about school violence, and police have assumed greater
responsibility for helping school officials ensure students' safety. As pressure
increases to place officers in schools, police agencies must decide how best to
contribute to student safety. This guide provides police with information about
the causes and extent of bullying in schools and recommendations for developing
effective approaches and practices that contribute to student safety.

Disorderly Youth in Public Places
Disorderly youth in public places constitute one of the most common problems
facing many police agencies. This problem-oriented guide for police provides a
general discussion of the problem of disorderly youth in public places and
reviews the factors that contribute to it. The guide also identifies questions
to ask when dealing with a disorderly youth problem, proposes numerous responses
to the problem, and identifies ways to measure the effectiveness of responses to
the problem.

Drive-By Shootings
Drive-by shootings are but one aspect of the larger set of problems related to
gang and gun violence. This guide addresses the particular harms drive-by
shootings cause by describing the problem of drive-by shootings and reviewing
factors that increase its risks. It then identifies a series of questions to
help law enforcement analyze their local drive-by shootings problem. Finally, it
reviews responses to the problem and what is known about them from evaluative
research and police practice.

Drug Dealing in Open-Air Markets
Open-air markets represent the lowest level of the drug distribution network.
Low-level markets need to be tackled effectively to reduce the harms that
illicit drug use can inflict on the local community. This guide describes the
problem and reviews the factors that increase the risks of drug dealing in
open-air markets. The guide then identifies a series of questions that might
assist agencies in analyzing their local problem and reviews responses to the
problem and what is known about these from evaluative research and police
practice.

Graffiti
This problem-oriented guide for police addresses effective responses to the
problem of graffiti - the wide range of markings, etchings, and paintings that
deface public or private property. In recent decades, graffiti has become an
extensive problem, spreading from the largest cities to other locales. This
guide provides law enforcement a serious of questions to consider when analyzing
their local graffiti problem and reviews responses to the problem based on
evaluative research and police practice.

Gun Violence Among Serious Young
Offenders
While gun violence among young offenders seems to pervade our society, it is
remarkably clustered among high-risk people, in high-risk places, at high-risk
times. This concentration of violence provides an important opportunity for
police to strategically address a seemingly intractable problem. This guide
identifies a series of questions to help law enforcement analyze their local
problem and reviews responses to the problem and what is known about them from
evaluative research and police practice.

Juvenile Runaways
Police encounter juveniles for many reasons related to their running away from
home. This guide begins by describing the problem of juvenile runaways and
reviewing its risk factors. It then identifies a series of questions to help law
enforcement analyze their local juvenile runaway problem. Finally, it reviews
responses to the problem and what is known about them from evaluative research
and police practice.

Solutions to Address Gang Crime
CD-ROM
The CD-ROM includes resources related to law enforcement responses for
addressing gang activity, gang activity in specific populations, criminal
behavior of gangs, and statistics and research on gangs. This CD-ROM contains a
video documenting the 2003 Herman Goldstein Award Winner and Finalists.

Street Gangs and Interventions:
Innovative Problem Solving with Network Analysis
This paper briefly reviews the range of prevention, intervention, suppression,
and comprehensive strategies, providing examples of each type. It then offers a
case study of problem analysis in Newark, New Jersey. The reader will learn the
unique utility of network analysis in the resultant problem analysis and
understand the important role of an academic research partner. Finally, the
paper considers the importance of sustainability with regard to problem
analysis.

Witness Intimidation
Witness intimidation is but one aspect of the larger set of problems related to
protecting crime victims and witnesses from future harms. This guide focuses on
the issues and responses that are most relevant to police, although useful
resources for prosecutors are highlighted where appropriate.